LITUANUS LITHUANIAN QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES   Volume 44, No.2 - Summer 1998 Editor of this issue: Robertas Vitas ISSN 0024-5089 Copyright © 1998 LITUANUS Foundation, Inc.

THE LITHUANIAN CEMETERY AND THE ARCHDIOCESE OF CHICAGO:
A DOCUMENTED CLASH BETWEEN THE UNIVERSAL AND THE PARTICULAR

ANTANAS J. VAN REENAN
Columbia College of Chicago
St. Xavier University

In the Spring of 1997, the term "Lithuanian" was removed from all the name plates of St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery. What follows is a documented history of a non-violent struggle over the identity of the cemetery, which began during the era of Chicago's Cardinal Joseph Patrick Cody who became archbishop in 1965, and continued during the era of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin (1982-1996). The issue over the identity of the Lithuanian-founded cemetery has an historical pedigree of interest to both scholars and popular readers and, as such, bears revisiting as Archbishop Francis George assumes his tenure over the multi-ethnic Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.

In late 1967, a clash between the Lithuanians and Cardinal Cody surfaced when the Archdiocese of Chicago removed the word "Lithuanian" from the official title of St. Casimir Cemetery at 111th Street and Pulaski Avenue. From 1903 to 1965, the cemetery had been administered by the Lithuanian Roman Catholic clergy. The prelude to Cardinal Cody's universal cemetery code occurred in 1965, when Cardinal Albert Meyer turned over administration of all cemeteries to one non-ethnic prelate.1 As a consequence, Chicago's ethnic groups lost control of their cemeteries and cemetery funds. The action of the Archdiocese was completely in tune with the position of the Church "not to foster national communalism any longer than it is necessary:"

In general, the official position of the Church on this question of membership in juridical national parishes is clearly to encourage assimilation into the larger community by lifting all barriers to affiliation with the territorial parish for those who speak English.2

However, the reference of the Church as to "...the individual's right to make his choice freely is fully guaranteed, and the right of the national or ethnic group to perpetuate its culture is likewise protected"3 directly contradicted the management policies dictated by the Archdiocese of Chicago concerning the Lithuanian cemetery and its "people."

The conditions for a clash between the Lithuanian community and the Archdiocese of Chicago were drawn when Archdiocesan Cemetery Administrator John F. Philbin addressed 40 Lithuanian-American clergy and trustees from the twelve Lithuanian Roman Catholic parishes of Chicago on February 13, 1968, at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Marquette Park, where he outlined the new Archdiocesan policy as it related to "...uniform internment cost, uniform provision of care, uniform grave prices, uniform rules on decorations, uniform rules on internment procedures, uniform rules on memorials... [in] every Catholic cemetery... ."4

While the Lithuanian-American group attending the meeting did not protest the new rulings on uniformity, the new policy created concern among diaspora Lithuanians (post-World War II refugees) who saw St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery as a symbol for Lithuanians in the West. Reacting to the anti-ethnic move of the Church, Chicago's diaspora Lithuanians quickly formed a committee for Lithuanian laymen to defend the community against those trying to obliterate the Lithuanian language and its customs — grave side rites, personalized photos and non-biblical phrases on tombstones. Algis A. Regis, a charismatic leader of the Chicago branch of the Lithuanian World Community, wrote to Rt. Rev. Msg. F.J. McElligot, director of Major Roman Catholic Cemeteries in the Chicago Archdiocese, protesting the attempt to obliterate all Lithuanian customs at their cemetery. Noting that English language inscriptions had begun to appear on grave monuments of those who had asked for purely Lithuanian words, he stressed that composition of inscriptions on monuments should remain the privilege of those closest to the deceased. Another point of concern was the Church's prerogative to determine the place and type of last religious rites over preferences of the family of the deceased. McElligot informed Mr. Regis that the Church may reasonably determine the place and type of religious rites, pointing out that existing cemetery practices were cost effective.

The community's response came in the form of a massive meeting, called by Regis for February 17, 1968, at the Ford City shopping center Exhibition Hall. Over 2,220 Lithuanians attended as Regis told his people that the Church "continues taking the attitude of knowing what is better for the dead as well as for the living."5 Tearful speakers backed up Regis' call for holding back Sunday offerings of money and, instead, filling the envelopes with hand-drawn pictures of cemetery officials desecrating coffins. On March 22, 1968, Chicago's Naujienos Lithuanian newspaper took the opportunity to note the failure of Lithuanian priests to attend the rally: "It appears that clerics pay no heed to their parishioners. Such clerics should leave their parishes since their presence is harmful." Another editorial on March 29 in Naujienos viewed the situation of priests pitted against their Lithuanian parishioners as "...smart politics: in order to avoid battle with us, they send our own priests to war on us... brother against brother, like Vietnam. ...Are Lithuanian priests not part of our community? Are they not children of the same ethnic group? What has happened to the spirit of Bishop M. Valančius, Bishop A. Baranauskas?..."6 Aside from Rev. Dr. Mykolas Krupavičius, a leader in émigré circles and the founder of the postwar Lithuanian Charter, who wrote an article pointing out that Pope Paul VI supported national tradition and lamented that this policy was not practiced in America, most transplanted Lithuanian circles remained silent in the growing rift between those loyal to the Lithuanian language and its culture and the adherents of Church policy.

However, when Lithuanians realized that "Lithuanian" was being dropped from the formal name of the cemetery and replaced with "South West Cemetery," they unanimously elected Algis Regis to officially head a "protection committee" to "return administration of the cemetery to the Lithuanian community." He organized cemetery plot holders into a permanent "Committee for Protection of Laymen Rights at St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery."7 Regis' committee asked Archbishop John Cardinal Cody to remove Msgr. Victor Černauskas, then pastor of Nativity B.V.M. Church and a director of the Catholic cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Chicago, from his post as a member of the St. Casimir Cemetery advisory board because he "...had isolated himself from the mainstream of Community life, exhibited bureaucratic attitudes and neglected the parish."8 He also accused Černauskas of originating the suggestion to rename the cemetery.

Though the Chancery denied suppression of the Lithuanian language and liturgy, Rev. Vincenzio Mincevičius, a Lithuanian priest living in Rome, confirmed Cardinal Cody as the prime mover in "forcing" English on Chicago's Lithuanians.9 For example, Regis attacked Cardinal Cody for refusing to hold a Lithuanian language first Holy Communion Mass for Nativity B.V.M. children on October 26, 1968, even though approximately 90% of the children, according to Regis, spoke fluent Lithuanian. Rev. Černauskas claimed only half spoke Lithuanian while another Lithuanian priest said that about 90% of the First Holy Communion class spoke Lithuanian.10 The public's response to Černauskas' policy began on October 26, 1968 in front of Nativity B.V.M. when sixty-three Lithuanian parents carried black flags and picket posters that read "Msgr. Černauskas wants to alienate children from parents." One of the picketers, Povilas Žumbakis, said:

We have for a long time been asking the pastor, Msgr. Victor Černauskas, for the introduction of Lithuanian language in the Mass and in prayers, and celebration of the 50th anniversary of Lithuanian independence. ...He has refused to even discuss the matter with us.11

Žumbakis added:

A few years ago, when we first asked the pastor for recognition of our Lithuanian background in the services, he promised to make changes when we became a majority in the parish. We now comprise between 85 and 90 percent of the parishioners. Several delegations unsuccessfully petitioned the pastor before the decision was made to picket.12

A spiritual attack of the picketers by Rev. Černauskas followed. Černauskas, a Lithuanian-American, publicly denounced these Roman Catholics as a small band "fiercely nationalistic in attitude and demands." He stated:

As a priest-director of the Catholic cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Chicago, I have no intention of submitting my resignation from this ecclesiastical duty because of any pressure exert by extreme and irresponsible groups. My appointment to this position is at the will of the Cardinal [Cody] and the Cardinal has charged me with carrying out my duties... in the best interest of the total Lithuanian community.13

Rev.. Černauskas identified his foes as

...recent arrivals to the United States who appear unable to accommodate themselves to the patterns of life in their adopted country and insist that Catholic cemeteries, as we have them, must conform to a different historical pattern...

They have resisted every change that has ever been instituted by the cemetery. Moreover, they have ridiculed and attacked rules and practices in St. Casimir Lithuanian cemetery that have been in effect for many years, developed by the Lithuanian-American families who are subject to harassment for not supporting this extreme group; when funerals at St. Casimir are being disturbed by insulting tactics of these people at the very time, which the dissidents piously insist, demands the most reverential treatment...

[They have] no respect and no regard for the traditions long established in the local American Catholic Lithuanian Community of which they have recently become members.

This program, such as it is, is a call to total anarchy and rebellion against any form of authority, except their own.14

Černauskas' statement triggered massive meetings by outraged diaspora-minded parishioners. Picketing continued in protest of "abuses and violations of national and Christian traditions."15 In response to the monsignor's portrayal of his parishioners as "recent arrivals," Regis commented that

...none are on relief. They are proud people and, according to university statistics, this group of people provides the highest percentage of students going to universities than any other group.... He [Černauskas] is only widening the gap between the Archdiocese and the Lithuanian-American Catholic Community.16

By January 13, 1969, eight hundred cemetery plot holders, led by Regis, met at Gage Park Fieldhouse where they approved a petition to be sent to John Cardinal Cody, again asking removal of Černauskas as priest-administrator at St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery. Sixteen days later, over 800 Lithuanians again gathered at Gage Park Fieldhouse and heard Regis tell them other cemetery concerns about..." bodies of loved ones ... mixed up and placed in the wrong graves... . Now we are even afraid to die!"17

During the fall of 1969, the Lithuanian community's clash with the Roman Catholic Church received wider publicity when the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) sent a five-man television crew to Regis' home, followed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), for a three-minute NBC-TV news interview and five-minute talk on Canadian radio. The publicity prompted the establishment of an advisory council, drawn from representatives of Chicago's Lithuanian World Community, the St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery Plot Holder's Association, and The Lithuanian Roman Catholic Federation-Chicago District - to meet with the Archdiocesan cemetery board concerning the dispute. As a result, "Lithuanian" was returned to the cemetery's title, grave side services were reinstated, non-scriptural inscriptions on tombstones in either English or Lithuanian were legalized and cemetery rules were made available in the Lithuanian language.

Another contention between the two groups occurred over a new 50% extra premium for "dignified burial," which took effect shortly after the 1969 cemetery dispute settlement. Regis registered the Lithuanian community's disgust over the extra burial fees in a letter to Cody, making the following three points:

1. The 50% extra fee for a dignified burial imposed in our cemetery is considered an affront to the Catholic community. It is extremely out of reason to insist on such an exorbitant extra fee for not using the chapel accommodations.

2. The arrogant and contemptuous manner in which our community was treated for the past several years requires that the plot holders and the community representation be included in all cemetery policy making and administration of the functions.

3. As the cemetery was established and dedicated for traditional Lithuanian Catholic burial, we, as the Lithuanian American community, are concerned with the preservation of this spiritual heritage for future generations.

"We request that the return of the glory of God and the dignity of buried Christians be based on formal, ecumenical arrangements with our community and the plot holders and not solely on unilateral announcements.

The public meeting requests Your Eminence's attention to the fact that in the annals of Lithuanian American history no other event wounded our hearts and souls deeper than the degradation of our faith and pride in Christian values than those currently experienced at the Catholic Lithuanian cemetery.18

At the 1970 annual picnic of the St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery Plot Holder's Association, Regis complimented the membership for their "...ceaseless efforts to weed out commercialism from religion, ...idealism in protection of our sacred institution against...archdiocesan officials with a narrow vision for the community...,"19 and vowed to continue relentless efforts to secure acceptable burial practices from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.

On June 3, 1971, new developments in the cemetery dispute occurred. In the aftermath of mass picketing at Cardinal Cody's office, where picketers protested anti-ethnic attitudes and administration policies, as well as charging Cardinal Cody with violating the cemetery constitution by handing over five acres of cemetery land to Marist High School, fifteen Roman Catholic clerics released the following statement in support of Archdiocesan cemetery policy: "The group describing itself as plot holders of St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery is not in any way representative of the feelings of thousands of Lithuanian Catholics."20 The clerics, who supported the Archdiocesan policy, claimed that twenty acres of cemetery land was sold to the high school in 1962 by then Cardinal Meyer, a move unanimously approved by all the clergy and lay members of St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery. The pro-Church group further stated that:

We decry the methods and tactics used by this group to further its aims, particularly its attempts to set group against group, individual against individual, layman against clergy and the people against their church.

We support the Cardinal, the cemetery administration in their efforts to maintain and preserve Lithuanian and Catholic tradition.21

The pro-Diocesan group included Msg. Domašus Mozeris (pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish), the Rev. Anthony Zakarauskas (pastor of Nativity B.V.M. and Černauskas' successor) and the exiled Bishop of Kaunas, Lithuania, Vincentas Brizgys. All of the clergy listed, with the exception of the exiled Bishop of Kaunas, who ministered to Lithuanian Catholics in North America, were American-born Lithuanians who came down on the side of the Church in the clash with Lithuanian linguistic nationalism in the diaspora. Significantly, all of the lay signatories were American-born Lithuanians. Ateitis Federation leader Dr. Adolfas Damušis did not sign the statement that denigrated the concept of diaspora Lithuanians in favor of an American Roman Catholicism and its stress on universality of man.

Though diaspora Lithuanians had not been able to reach Cardinal Cody personally since the beginning of the cemetery crisis in 1967, they continued picketing until several weeks before the pro-Archdiocesan petition. In 1972, shortly before Lithuanian Independence Day on February 16th, Chicago Lithuanians decided to charter an airplane to Rome to picket St. Peter's Basilica to protest the continued denial to parish school children of First Holy communion in the Lithuanian language and the lack of concern for the spiritual needs of Lithuanians by American churchmen. Under the direction of then World Lithuanian Community (PLB) president Jonas Jasaitis, a formal resolution was drafted protesting the violation of the cemetery constitution by unilateral sale of land, the continued attempt to obliterate the ethnic character of the cemetery by ruling that only uniform monuments be erected in choice sections, and the withholding of information from Lithuanians of revenues and expenses in their own cemetery. The PLB forwarded copies to Cardinal Cody, to the Most Rev. Luigi Raimondi, Vatican Nuncio in Washington, D.C., and to the Most Rev. E. Clairzio, papal aide in Vatican City assigned to deal with religious traditions of ethnic groups.

In mid-May of 1972, the cemetery struggle took on even more symbolic meaning when Chicago's Lithuanian Community received news that Romas Kalanta, a nineteen-year-old Lithuanian student, had set himself on fire in a Kaunas park in protest of suppression of Lithuanian language and religious rights by Communist rule. His May 18 funeral in Kaunas turned into a massive nationalistic demonstration followed by thousands of young Lithuanians taking to the streets and shouting "Freedom for Lithuania!" Deeply moved by the Kalanta sacrifice for linguistic and religious freedom in their homeland, the Lithuanian community formulated plans to erect a monument for Kalanta in St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery to serve as spiritual inspiration for those fighting to live as Lithuanians both in the homeland and in the diaspora. Thus, the Kalanta incident became a spiritual expression of frustrated Lithuanians who wanted to live as Lithuanians.

Less than a week after the self-immolation Kalanta, the Archdiocese of Chicago introduced bicycle riding paths in the cemetery - to Lithuanians a sacrilegious act performed on the dead. In a meeting held May 24 at the Gage Park auditorium, over 300 cemetery plot holders passed the following resolution:

1. A protest against the giving of five acres of cemetery land to Marist High School. ...school use of the land [is] a sacrilegious act.

2. ...Lithuanian religious art was reflected in cemetery monuments. The Catholic Archdiocese has cheapened the cemetery with modern art and has caused deep dissatisfaction among the plot holders.

3. The use of the cemetery as a bicycle riding area permitted by the Archdiocese has caused an increase in crime and vandalism at the cemetery. Many women now are afraid to enter the cemetery for fear of being insulted, robbed, or suffer physical injury by bike riding gangs.22

At that time, Algis Regis and Kazys Barzdukas denounced the Chicago Archdiocese as a "bureaucracy reduced in its spiritual value to a mere business establishment."23

On October 21, 1979, Southtown Economist journalist Carol Kristi reported that:

A long simmering dispute between the Lithuanian Community and the Chicago Archdiocese over St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery will be the topic of a meeting today among the Southwest Side's Lithuanian Community. The heat is being generated by a proposed swap of four acres of the Lithuanian cemetery, 4401 W. 115th Street. Marist High School, 4200 W. 115th St., is eyeing land which is adjacent to the school grounds for an athletic field.24

Regis protested the school's plan to swap their playing field along 115th Street, originally Lithuanian cemetery property, for four acres located closer to Marist High School:

The cemetery is a place to cherish our culture and preserve the Christian tradition. Its existence gives spiritual strength to the people and holds them strong and idealistic. The cemetery is a national cemetery and is the final resting place for Lithuanians from all over the United States and South America. It is the center of all free Lithuanians.25

The community felt that the latest four acres in question would bring shouting teenagers engaged in play within hearing distance of funerals in the cemetery. When John Philbin, executive director of Catholic cemeteries, held that "land is at a premium and a cemetery is a prisoner of what is around it,"26 Regis countered by observing that the "...cemetery's constitution states that the cemetery land should be used only for the burial of the dead and for no other purpose. [...] No matter how noble a cause the high school is, it doesn't belong here and is an alien institution."27 Philbin also labeled the St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery Board of Directors, composed of pastors and laymen from Lithuanian parishes, nothing more than a "rubber stamp neither chosen by nor active in the Lithuanian Community."28 In the Fall of 1979, the Archdiocese transferred the disputed four acres of land from the cemetery to Marist High School. As compensation, the cemetery received eight acres of land described by Regis as "undesirable and less valuable."

Algis Regis drew strength from Mykolas Krupavičius, spiritual consultant of the Committee for Laymens Rights, who saw Regis as not only a dedicated leader for preserving a Lithuanian cemetery but also as a fighter for the survival of Lithuanianism in its exile capitol - Chicago. Bolstered by Krupavičius' moral support, Regis flew to the Vatican for a private audience with Cardinal E. Clarizio in September, 1971 to "represent crucified Lithuanians" and to "safeguard Lithuanian culture because, just as Lithuanians are oppressed in Lithuania for being Roman Catholics, so Lithuanians are persecuted for being Lithuanian in the largest Lithuanian colony outside of Lithuania - Chicago." According to Regis, Cardinal Clarizio told him that though he didn't know him, his organization, or the situation, the fact remained that "Cardinal Cody, of Chicago, is the highest authority in this case since it is seen not as religious conflict but as a local administrative one. The Holy Father does not get involved in local matters. There is no theological problem involving a small cemetery and a small ethnic group." However, Cardinal Clarizio said he would refer the matter to Cardinal Cody.

The symbolic importance of St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery to diaspora Lithuanians can best be understood in terms of the continuity of life as developed by the nineteenth-century Lithuanian philosopher, Stasys Šalkauskis, and eighteenth-century Russian thinkers, such as Chaadaev and Soloviev, before him. The same idea becomes apparent in Algis Regis' verbalization of the personal importance of the cemetery conflict:

St. Casimir Cemetery is the spiritual manifestation of Lithuanian Christian culture. Its crosses and monuments are uniquely Lithuanian and stand as a cultural testament of oppressed Lithuania. The cemetery is not only a symbol of a living Lithuanian culture in America, as represented by folk art motifs and traditional Lithuanian burial practices, but is also an important element of the Lithuanian community because it is a spiritual mirror of Lithuanian culture. An attempt to obliterate the cemetery from Lithuanian life does spiritual violence to the Lithuanian soul.29

Significantly, the Lithuanian Charter reiterates the same continuity between the living and the dead. Thus St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery, in a symbolic form, connects the diaspora Lithuanian to the past - essential to his existence in terms of a national individuality along Šalkauskian lines.

It is worth reflecting on this paradoxical situation in multi-ethnic Chicago. Namely, while the United States is moving toward a multicultural agenda, the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago appeared to be dismantling a rich cultural heritage in the form of the Lithuanian-inspired and Lithuanian-built cemetery on the Southwest side of Chicago. Within this climate, ethnic and linguistic groups are taking pride in their respective cultural and historical heritage by virtue of the belief system of multiculturalism as the dominant paradigm in American life and education. It will be of historic interest to observe the multicultural policies of Chicago's new Archbishop Francis George.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anyta, Aldona, "Trečiadienio pastabos," Naujienos (24 January , 1968), 2. 
"Ask Cardinal to Act on Cemetery Project," Southtown Economist (14 November 1968), 10. 
"Ask Msgr. Cernauskas' Ouster." Southtown Economist (13 November 1968), 1. 
Bowman, James H., "New Fuel Feeds Fire of Lithuanian Furor," Chicago Daily News (25 November 1969), 58. 
"Bruožai," Sandara (22 March 1968), 2. 
"Cernauskas Vows to Keep Post Despite Objections," Southwest News Herald (21 November 1968), 1. 
"Continue Casimir Fight," Southtown Economist (5 August 1970), IV, 1.
"Dar apie Šv. Kazimiero kapines," Naujienos (23 February 1968), 2. 
"Demand Traditional Burial Rites," Southwest Herald (21 March 1968), 2. 
Dobilas, Algirdas, "Čikagoje jau tik septynios parapijos!" Naujienos (16 January 1968), 2. 
Gordon, Milton M., Assimilation in American Life: The Role of Race, Religion, and National Origins. New York: Oxford University Press, 1964. 
Janušaitis, Jurgis, "Kodėl uolus katalikas buvo palaidotas tautinėse kapinėse" Naujienos (25 January 1968), 2.
—————————, "Šv. Kazimiero kapinių reikalai masiniame susirinkime," Draugas (1968), 5. 
Joyce, Patrick, "Lith Cemetery Hassle Will Go to Pope Paul VI" Southtown Economist (9 February 1972), 1.
————————, "Liths Protest Cody Bike Path in Casimir Cemetery" Southtown Economist (24 May 1972), 1-2.
————————, "Lithuanians Protest Cemetery Policy, Seek Greater Voice" Economist newspapers (28 January 1973), Section II, 7. 
"Kaip mūsų kunigai informuoja savo hierarchijos viršininkus," Naujienos (25 January 1968), 3.
Kal, Charles P., "Katalikai yra nusiminę," Naujienos (10 February 1968), 4. 
"Kazimierinių reikalų išklausyti susirinko per 2000 žmonių" Naujienos (22 March 1968), 4. 
Kezys, Algimantas, A Lithuanian Cemetery: St. Casimir Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago: Morkūnas Press, 1976.
Kristi, Carol, "Land Swap Angers Lithuanians," Southtown Economist (21 October 1979), 4. 
—————, "Negotiations for Land Swap of Cemetery at a Standstill," Southtawn Economist. (8 November, 1979), 2. 
Krupavičius, Mykolas, "Šv. Kazimiero lietuvių kapinių proga." Draugas, (11 March 1968), 3. 
"Kuo virs susijaudinimas dėl lietuvių kapinių Chicagoje," Darbininkas, (26 March 1968), 3. 
Kutkus, Vytautas, "Lietuviškos vyskupijos reikalas Detroito sinode," Draugas (22 February 1968), 6.
"Laimėjimų prošvaistės Kazimierinėse," Naujienos (26 June 1970), 5. 
"Lenkų kapinių padėtis," Naujienos (17 February 1968), 2. 
Linstead, John, "Lithuanians Critical of Grave Edit," Chicago Daily News (30 March 1970), 26. 
"Lith Leaders Denounce Cemetery Protests," Southwest News Herald (3 June 1971), 9. 
"Liths Ask Cody to Check Slight," Southtown Economist (3 June 1970), 1. 
"Liths Rally for Cemetery Rule," Southtown Economist (20 March 1968), 1. 
"Liths Refute Quinn Charges," Economist Newspapers (15 April 1970), C3. 
"Liths Win Casimir Battle," Economist Newspapers (1 April 1970), 5:IIE. 
"Lithuanian Leader Refutes Charges in Cemetery Rift," Southwest News Herald (28 November 1968), 2. 
"Lithuanian Plot Holders Plan to Picket Vatican," Southwest News Herald (10 February 1972), 26. 
"Lithuanians in Rally over Cemetery," Southtown Economist (17 March 1968), 1-2. 
"Lithuanians Renew Drive against Cemetery Director," Southwest News Herald (13 January 1969), 2. 
Marma, Antanas, "Išlaikykime lietuvybę parapijose", Naujienos (29 March 1968), 2.
"Numatoma piketuoti Kardinolą," Naujienos (20 May 1972), 1. 
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"Pasauliečių laiškas Čikagos Archidiecezijos kapinių administracijai," Draugas (March 1968), 4. 
"Pavėluoti Kazimierinių geradariai," Naujienos (19 January 1968), 3.
Regis, Algis, "Bukite krikščioniški, - A. Regis pataria kun. Černauskui, Kuzinskui," Naujienos (30 January 1970), 4.
——————, "Trys klebonai pakviesti į pasauliečių susirinkimą," Naujienos (9 December 1968), 2.
"Šv. Kazimiero kapinių reformos", Naujienos (17 February 1983), 2.
"Šv. Kazimiero kapinių reikalai LB Chicagos apygardoje," Naujienos (2 February 1968), 2.
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"Šv. Kazimiero Lietuvių Kapinių sklypų savininkai svarstys svarbias problemas," Draugas (22 January 1969), 7.
Thompson, Edith, "Liths Vote Unanimously to Ask Černauskas Ouster," Southtown Economist (29 January 1969), 2.
"2 Lithuanian Groups Clash," The Register (24 December 1967), 2.

Romanas Šaliamoras / Bookplate commemorating 450th anniversary of the publication of the first Lithuanian book

1 "Demand Restoration of Traditional Burial Rites," Southwest Herald (21 March 1968), p. 2.
2 Milton M. Gordon, Assimilation in American Life: The Role of Race, Religion, and National Origins (New York: Oxford University Press, 1964), p. 199. Hereafter cited as Gordon.
3 Gordon, p. 199.
4 Mykolas Krupavičius, "Kuo virs susijaudinimas dėl lietuvių kapinių Chicagoje," Darbininkas (26 March 1968), p. 3. Hereafter cited as Krupavičius.
5 "Lithuanians in Rally Over Cemetery," Southtown Economist (March 1968), pp. 1-2.
6 Antanas Marma, "Išlaikykime lietuvybę parapijose," Naujienos (29 March 1968), p. 2.
7 James H. Bowman, "New Fuel Feeds Fire of Lithuanian Furor," Chicago Daily News (25 November 1969), p. 8. Hereafter cited as Bowman.
8 "Černauskas Vows to Keep Post, Despite Objections," Southwest News Herald (21 November 1968), p. 1. Hereafter cited as "Černauskas vows".
9 Bowman, p. 5.
10 "Šv. Kazimiero lietuvių kapinių sklypų savininkai svarstys svarbias problemas," Draugas (22 January 1969), p. 7.
11 Eva Simmons, "Lith. Unite Picket Church," Southtown Economist (30 October 1968). Hereafter cited as Simmons.
12 Simmons.
13 "Černauskas Vows," p. 1.
14 Ibid.
15 "Ask Cardinal to Act on Cemetery Project," Southtown Economist (14 November 1968), p. 10.
16 "Lithuanian Leader Refutes Charges in Cemetery Rift," Southwest News Herald (28 November 1968), p. 2.
17 "Liths Vote Unanimously to Ask Černauskas Ouster," Southtown Economist (29 January, 1969), 7.
18 Algis Regis, Letter to Archbishop Cody, dated 28 June 1970.
19 "Continue Casimir Fight," Southtown Economist (5 August 1970), IV, p. 1.
20 "Lith. Leaders Denounce Cemetery Protests," Southwest News Herald (3 June 1971), p. 9. Hereafter cited as "Lith. Leaders Denounce."
21 "Lith. Leaders Denounce," p. 9.
22 Patrick Joyce, "Liths Protest Cody Bike Path in Casimir Cemetery", Southtown Economist (24 May 1972), p. 1. Hereafter cited as Joyce.
23 Joyce, p. 2.
24 Carol Kristi, "Land Swap Angers Lithuanians," Southtown Economist (21 October 1979), p. 4. Hereafter cited as "Land Swap."
25 "Land Swap," p. 4.
26 "Land Swap," p. 4.
27 Carol Kristi, "Negotiations for Land Swap of Cemetery at a Standstill," Southtown Economist ( 8 November 1979), p. 2. Hereafter cited as "Negotiations."
28 "Negotiations," p. 2.
29 Algis A. Regis, Interview, 21 August 1997. See also private library file entitled "Šv. Kazimiero kapinės Chicagoje: Amerikos lietuvių panteonas ir pastangos jas išsaugoti ateičiai." The author thanks Mr. Regis for access to his files.